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Corporations Feel No Allegiance to Our Nation

May 05, 2014Ruth Patterson

Large companies in the United States are not what they used to be. They no longer have any loyalty to the country that gave them their start, and they no longer make what they sell. They exist solely for the benefit of their executives and their stockholders, while their employees, customers, and country are seen only as means to make more profits. Unless this way of thinking changes, the United States could be in for some very dark times.

Multinational corporations, even those with their headquarters in the United States, can hardly be called American companies anymore. While their CEOs may live here and they may be incorporated in the United States, they show no signs of loyalty to this country or any other. They gladly hide their profits in offshore tax havens while using the resources our country provides, like a well-educated workforce, roads, airports and seaports.

These things are all necessary for the success of a business, and would be impossible without the government, but the corporations no longer feel any responsibility to chip in their fair share. Instead, they are engaged in a relentless search for profits, often at the expense of American workers. Not only do they take advantage of tax loopholes and our misguided “free trade” policies to make more money, they actively campaign to make sure these policies stay in place.

One of the reasons these companies feel no loyalty to their country is that they no longer make anything here. Companies are now little more than a company name and a marketing department. They have long since relieved themselves of the responsibility of actually producing anything. Companies like Apple merely contract out the manufacturing of their goods to foreign companies like Foxconn, who slap an Apple logo on the final product and ship it back to the United States, often tariff- and duty-free.

These “American” companies move their operations from country to country, seeking the cheapest labor and the easiest access to the U.S. market for their cheaply made goods. The people who make their products are rarely their employees, and when they are these companies will lay them off in a heartbeat to make a few extra dollars for their shareholders. Workers and managements used to work together to make a good product while providing for their families and the communities they lived in. That notion has been replaced by shareholder value and the search for quick returns.

This current system is unsustainable for the United States. We cannot continue to operate at the whims of multinational corporations. We need companies with solid roots who care about the communities that made them great, and who will push for policies that make the United States stronger, not plunge it into economic despair. Things need to change in the United States. It may take some work, but the answers are right in front of us.

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